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New crop of fish cookery books arrives for summer dining

Just in time for summer's lighter fare, a trio of fish books washed up on American shores. They are new editions of European books retooled to varying degrees to needs of United States consumers. The season aside, why these books now?

"In my experience, the American palate is really maturing and opening up,'' says Barton Seaver, a Washington, D.C.-based chef, National Geographic Society fellow and adviser to the U.S. edition of "Fish: Recipes from the Sea." "Seafood falls perfectly into that in terms of colors and textures and flavors as opposed to terrestrial sources of protein."

"What's happening is there's a little bit of a stampede on fish," says David Leite, New York City-based publisher of the online food magazine Leite's Culinaria. "People are trying to eat a little lighter. They're finding fish is a better protein to eat."

Leite sees a corresponding rise in interest in pescetarianism, a diet that includes seafood but no other animals.

"People are moving away from red meat," he says. "There's a movement afoot among cookbook writers and cooks to eat something they think is healthier."

Besides "Fish," the other new seafood books are: "Fish Easy" by Mitch Tonks, a well-known restaurateur, writer and fishmonger based in Brixham, a small fishing port in southwest England; and "The River Cottage Fish Book" by television fishing expert Nick Fisher and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, author of "The River Cottage Cookbook.

All explain the various types of fish and shellfish available, offer alternative choices for various recipes, and give pointers on how to buy, store and prepare seafood, with cooking methods ranging from pan-frying to grilling. Where these works differ from past books on fish cookery is a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Seafood is, arguably, the most local, perishable food there is. How to take these European books and make them relevant to an American audience had to pose a challenge, as Seaver discovered in working on "Fish," which is a collection of traditional Italian fish recipes from the folks behind "Silver Spoon," the massive and classic compendium of Italian cooking known in Italian as "Il Cucchiaio d'Argento."

"It's a U.K.-centric book drawing on recipes from the Mediterranean translated to an American audience. There's a serious bit of the telephone game going on here," says Seaver, who offered regional names for the fish used in the book and provided sustainable fish alternatives to those listed in the recipes.

Yet "Fish," like the other books, manages not to cross culinary wires too much because, as Seaver noted, they all "put the fish forward."

"That's the way to succeed in (fish) cooking. Let the seafood be the star ingredient," he says. "Let the cooking method be sort of an ingredient, especially when grilling, which adds a sultry aroma."

"Fish: Recipes From the Sea"
By the editors of Phaidon Press Phaidon, $45

"Fish Easy: Over 100 Simple 30-Minute Seafood Recipes"
By Mitch Tonks Pavilion, $29.95

"The River Cottage Fish Book: The Definitive Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Fish and Shellfish"
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher Ten Speed, $45 Washington, DC, USA

Grouper with Mediterranean sauce

Prep: 30 minutes
Stand: 6 hours
Cook: 35 minutes
Servings: 6

Note: While this dish from "Fish: Recipes from the Sea" calls for baking in the oven, experiment outdoors with a covered grill. Alternative fish: turbot, brill, cod.

Ingredients:
14 ounces fresh tomatoes, peeled, diced
2 1/2 cups black olives, pitted, halved
3/4 cup capers preserved in salt, rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, unpeeled
1/2 cup olive oil
2 3/4 pounds grouper, filleted, skinned
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 pounds potatoes, cut into thin rounds
Olive oil spray
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

1. Combine the tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano, garlic and oil in a bowl; cover. Let stand in a cool place, 6 hours.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish or baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Cut the fish into 6 portions; sprinkle the lemon juice over them. Arrange the potato rounds on the paper-lined dish in concentric circles to form a large rosette, spraying or brushing with olive oil between layers; season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake until browned, 15-20 minutes.

3. Remove dish from oven. Put in the middle of the rosette; bake 10 minutes. (If the fish doesn't brown, place under broiler a few minutes.) Remove from oven; transfer the potatoes and fish, still on paper, to a serving platter. Remove and discard the garlic from the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the fish and potatoes.

Nutrition information:
Per serving: 600 calories, 27 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 98 mg cholesterol, 33 g carbohydrates, 56 g protein, 1,338 mg sodium, 6 g fiber.

wdaley@tribune.com